What is love? That is one of life’s eternal questions, and one that, that Spanish filmmaker Alberto Mielgo tries to answer in his signature creative way with his much heralded animated short film “The Windshield Wiper,” which is a part of the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes.
Mielgo has a wildly impressive resume. He’s a director, animator, musical and art director, designer and more; his work is well regarded in the industry. Among his projects: “Tron: Uprising,” “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” “Love, Death and Robots,” and numerous others.
“Windshield Wiper” also boasts Barry Jenkins’ production company Pastel as a producer. The film is a passion project for Mielgo, it’s his “very personal and particular vision on love and relationships.” The film starts with an older man, thoughtfully and wistfully, smoking a cigarette in a café and asking this age old question of What is love? Through vignettes, the man traverses an existential journey to try and find the elusive answer.
The animation is off the charts amazing, truly visionary, but alas, not for the kiddies. Mielgo does not shy away from adult themes. Mielgo has said that,“I wanted to bring an adult them to animation that isn’t a video game either, and that’s not something we see in animation very often.” He has wildly succeeded, bringing a tortured view of what love is and is not. No wonder that Mielgo says he was inspired by David Lynch’s filmmaking style. Mielgo’s artistry, craftmanship and talent are not to be denied.
Watch the trailer for “Windshield Wiper” here:
The Windshield Wiper / TRAILER 2021 from alberto mielgo on Vimeo.
